Growing Pains
by Julandran
Summary: After he encourages his little sister to change the course of her life, Darcy needs a little reassurance of his own. Takes place on the evening after Welcome to Sanditon ep. 26 'Packet Loss'.


[8 Aug. 2013, the day of Sanditon ep. 26 'Packet Loss']

As Darcy left his office for the day, he discovered a familiar face in the executive waiting area.

"Hello," he said.

"Hey," Lizzie said, smiling gently. She stood up from the couch and took his hand.

"I thought we were meeting at the restaurant."

"Yeah, well, I finished some things earlier than expected and figured I'd come see you somewhere a little more private. Make sure you're okay."

He ducked his chin and swallowed, fighting back a smile. Her thoughtfulness still surprised him sometimes.

"You saw Gigi's video, then."

"I did." She'd been watching from the beginning of the project, reveling in the opportunity to see someone else's dramas play out after spending a year letting other people watch hers. And to support Gigi, of course.

She gave his fingers a squeeze. "You handled it very well."

"I hope so." His brow furrowed.

"You're upset that she was scared to talk to you, huh?"

She was getting very good at reading him. He nodded.

"Yes."

Lizzie pulled him into a comforting hug.

"Am I really so forbidding still?"

She smiled sympathetically.

"Sometimes, yeah. And that can be a good thing in your work," she reminded him. "But it's different with Gigi. You know that. It's easy to forget how closely little sisters listen, and how seriously they can take what we say. Between you and Catherine and your parents, she feels like she has a lot to live up to. She's not scared of _you_. She's scared of disappointing you."

He mulled that over for a moment.

"I've only ever wanted what's best for her."

"And she knows that. It's just that what's best for Gigi may not be the same as what people assume is best for Georgiana Darcy, heiress to Pemberley Digital. It's hard enough deciding your future when you're an ordinary twenty-one-year-old."

"I suppose so," he conceded, smiling sadly. Darcy hadn't felt like he'd had a choice when he'd taken over Pemberley, but it wasn't true. The board would have found another CEO, someone with experience and an MBA. Aunt Catherine had discouraged him from pursuing it, in fact, had all but ordered him to return to Harvard. By the time he'd turned twenty-one, Darcy had transferred to Stanford, gained sole custody of his sister, fought for and won his father's position, and learned to hold his own among businesspeople twice his age. His path had been anything but ordinary. He had done it in part so that Gigi could have something resembling a normal life. It hadn't always worked out the way he'd hoped, but he had to admit that striking out on her own was a pretty normal thing to do.

"It's going to be difficult to let her go."

Lizzie gave his waist a squeeze and fixed him with a solemn expression.

"You're not letting her go. She's still your little sister. If she really stumbles, you'll be there to pick her up," she said. "Gigi's going to be fine. You said it yourself. She's a Darcy. She'll figure it out."

That got a real smile out of him.

"I know."

She smiled back until her attention was drawn upwards.

"Honey, what is going on with your hair?"

Darcy gave a resigned sigh. "I don't know."

"What did Talia do?"

"Nothing, which is almost certainly the problem. She had a family emergency, and she offered to reschedule me for next week, but it was getting so unruly already that I kept the appointment and saw one of her assistants. I told him what she usually does, but... well, clearly he did something slightly different. My schedule today was very full, and I haven't had time to figure out how to make it behave yet."

Lizzie took pity on him in his follicular misfortune.

"Come sit down," she said, pulling him over to the couch. "I only have sisters, so I'm not great with boy hair, but I think I can help a little."

She pulled a collapsible brush and something the size of a marker out of her purse. The second item turned out to be a tiny vial of hairspray.

"Close your eyes." She spritzed and brushed and patted his wayward bangs into an approximation of their usual swoop. Finally she proclaimed the situation to be "better" and stowed her things back in her bag.

"Thank you." He stood up and pulled her in for a gentle kiss.

"You're welcome. Now let's go to dinner. You can tell me all about what the good people of Sanditon _didn't_ put on Domino."


End file.
